Five years follow up of patients with Сushing’s disease with and without visualized pituitary adenoma on MRI, who underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy

The remission rate of Cushing’s disease in patients after neurosurgery varies from 59 to 94%, while the recurrence rate is 3 to 46%.

Aim — to evaluate the five-year outcome in neurosurgery patients with Cushing’s disease (CD), depending on preoperative MRI-based identification of pituitary adenoma.

Material and methods. The study included 105 neurosurgery patients with histologically confirmed CD. CD remission was confirmed by the development of adrenal insufficiency and/or normalization of serum cortisol and 24-hour urinary free cortisol (24h UFC) levels, as well as by clinical remission.

Results. Pituitary adenoma was not visualized by gadolinium MRI in 35 cases. The size of visualized pituitary adenoma varied from 0.3 to 29 mm. After first neurosurgery, remission was achieved in 87 (82.8%) patients. After second neurosurgery, remission occurred in 12 patients. Radiation therapy was conducted in 24 patients. Six patients had bilateral adrenalectomy. Two patients died during remission: one patient died from stroke two years after neurosurgery, and the other patient died due to surgery complications. During five-year follow-up after neurosurgery, remission continued in 76 (72.8%) patients, including 27 (77%) of 35 patients without MRI-detected adenoma and 49 (70%) of 70 patients with MRI-detected pituitary adenoma, p=0.15. Sixty-six patients developed recurrence, and 14 patients had active hypercortisolism.

Conclusion. There was no correlation between the rate of preoperative MRI-based detection of pituitary adenoma and the rate of remission in neurosurgery patients with Cushing’s disease during the five year follow-up. The size of pituitary adenoma was a risk factor for adenoma recurrence.

ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma, endogenous hypercortisolism, Cushing’s disease, pituitary adenoma

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